Strange Ones
by AquaPolarBear
Summary: The Wilderness Boarding School. It's for kids with criminalistic minds. It's for kids with illegal acts in their records. Annabeth and her friends don't fit either of these molds, but there's definitely something odd about them. Some of the things happening seem almost... unnatural. Abnormal. Strange. Demigods. PERCABETH and more ships. T for occasional language.
1. Chapter 1

I lay down.

I close my eyes.

I drift, slowly, to sleep.

* * *

I am in a forest, dull, shaded, and silent. Night is approaching. Each leave is defined against the setting sun, defined but still dull.

No sound.

I move my legs slowly, and start towards a tree to touch it's rough branch, but I hear something.

I hear a noise in a sea of silence.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Chills shiver up my spine.

I start to run wildly through the trees, dodging low-hanging branches and weaving in between trees. The breeze whips my hair into knots easily. I dart over a creek, the water just barely touching my bare feet. But the terrifying clicking noise doesn't stop… so I keep running,

running,

running.

Until everything is still.

Until everything is dark.

Until everything is silent.

No sound.

Then there is light. The light seems to have no source, but it shines brightly on a single bird. Everything else is pitch black, except for a huge snow white owl, perched gracefully on a branch. We stare at each other for a moment.

The owl leans close to my face, and relief sweeps through my entire body. I'm free of the panic and frantic feeling I felt while running from the clicking.

I close my eyes, and gently touch my forehead to the owls glistening beak. I can't help but sigh, because I finally feel safe.

Then the owl leans away and speaks.

"Hello, child."

"Hello."

"I know- that you know- why I've come."

I don't respond. The owl tips it's magestic head back and squawks. It sounds like laughing.

"You are my mistress's daughter. She's concerned for you Annabeth," she whispers to me.

"Why?"

"Dangers are coming, young one. Dangers are coming quickly."

"What dangers?"I ask.

The owl starts to respond, but her mystical voice is cut off by clicking.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Suddenly, another light flares to life a about 5 hundred yards away from the spotlight my owl perches in. This new light reveals a pack of huge, hairy, spiders. Clicking their pincers, the spiders advance slowly, menacingly. As they crawl towards us their hundreds of legs speed up.

The wave of buried panic resurfaces as I take in the sight before me. But then I look at the owl, and know that she will protect me. She won't let me die a horrible death at the spiders' mercy.

The owl turns to me, and speaks with a new sense of urgency.

"Stay away from the one with green eyes," the beautiful owl warns me. Her voice is low and demanding. She is gone before I can blink, leaving me to the spiders.

Leaving me to the monsters.

So I start running.

Running.

Running.

Running.

Until everything is still.

Until everything is dark.

Until everything is silent.

* * *

I wake up in a cold sweat.

* * *

Hello again! I am not dead after all! I plan to update Just Another Guy fairly soon, so try and stick with me! Let me know if you liked this intro to this new story _Strange Ones_ by leaving a comment, favoriting, and following! Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I promise.**

 **Last Chapter:**

* * *

"Stay away from the one with green eyes," the beautiful owl warns me. Her voice is low and demanding. She is gone before I can blink, leaving me to the spiders.

Leaving me to the monsters.

So I start running.

Running.

Running.

Running.

Until everything is still.

Until everything is dark.

Until everything is silent.

I wake up in a cold sweat.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

I sat straight up in my bed. I was breathing quickly, and there was sweat covering my whole face. I wiped it off with the sheet on my bed. Heart racing, I looked into the pitch black that is my bedroom.

I couldn't think for a second, and that terrified me. I'd always relied on my quick thinking, but after the nightmare I'd just had my brain refused to work. All I could process is how scared I was.

I took three deep breaths, and lied back down in my bed.

 _It wasn't real, Annabeth. You know better than to think it could ever be anything more than a dream._

I took another deep breath. It just felt so real…

I fell asleep once again.

When I woke up, I tried to forget all about the nightmare last night, and it was actually a very easy task to do. I had something else on my mind: school. The Wilderness School to be exact.

The Wilderness School is a boarding school in Nevada. Parents all over the east coast send their kids there to get rid of them for the school year. This school advertises themselves as ' _A great school for unstable children'_ and ' _any parent needing a little peace and silence will feel perfectly comfortable leaving their children at the Wilderness School'_ and also add that- ' _If your child has been struggling with grades or behavior, our school is perfect. We will not allow any illegal acts or criminalistic behavior, and we have counselors who can help them through the hardest of their problems.'_

I'd just like to point out: I'm not unstable, nor struggling with grades or behavior. I've never committed one "illegal act" in my life.

I _definitely_ don't need or want a counselor.

You'd think that any "parents in need of silence" would send _all_ of their kids. They wouldn't just send _one_ that they hate the most. Obviously, my family just isn't normal. Today my parents get to ship me off to this stupid boarding school because I am their least favorite. They have three other children! Matthew, Bobby, and Malcolm get to go to normal school again this year, yet I am too much to put up with. Really, I think it's all because of my step-mom. Her real name is Scylla, but most people just call her Sil. She hates me. Sil has had it out for me ever since she even started _dating_ my dad. She loves her 'twinnies' (Bobby and Matthew) and she even likes Malcolm, who was adopted. Yet she has always hated me. Me, my stuff, and anything I do has been a subject of her loathing for about twelve years. That might be the only good thing about going to this freaking boarding school: no more stepmom.

I realized I was glaring. I fixed my expression and my thoughts, clearing them completely. I was still laying in my bed, but I twisted my head around to look at the gray clock sitting on my nightstand. 7:38:31am. Only 6 minutes and 29 seconds until my alarm was going to go off. Exactly 4 hours, 21 minutes, and 30 seconds until my first plane left for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Then, in 7 hours, 51 minutes and 31 seconds, I would catch second private plane to Wells, Nevada.

Richmond Virginia had been my had been my home for as long as I can remember, and I must admit... It made me sad to leave.

Now I had to make a new home. In Nevada. Alone.

At 11:00 am, about forty five minutes before I was supposed to board the plane, my parents decided it was time for them and the rest of my family to go. My dad and stepmom kissed my cheeks and said they loved me, the twins gave me high-fives, and Malcolm (my favorite sibling and favorite family member in general) gave me a letter and he hugged me tightly. I almost started tearing up. Then over Malcolm's shoulder, I saw my stepmother smiling happily. Her eyes found mine and she smiled extra big, openly mocking my misery. It was an ugly cross between a sneer and a smile. I ripped my gaze away from her brown eyes. She disgusted me.

"Shall we go, Sil?" My father asked my mother.

"Yes. Let's get out of here."

They walked away without looking back.

The first plane ride was short,uneventful, but surprisingly pleasant. I love flying. Once, I read an entire book about flying airplanes and helicopters. I read the guide twice through, and I have always wondered if I could actually pilot an airplane. I didn't have anything to do, so I tried to calculate the speed and controls they needed to lift off. It took me a good minute or so, longer than my normal equation. I had to factor in a lot of components: weight, size, shape, density, angles and any additional friction on the plane. It was fun, but I'll spare you the details.

We landed at 1:03, and I had a three and a half hour wait in Philadelphia. I struggled to find something to do. The first thing I did was walk over to the terminal F-14. Then I sat alone in the departure lounge and read the pamphlet all about the Wilderness School and also about the next flight scheduled for me.

It read: _All students who have been properly enrolled in our Wilderness School will be expected to be at the Philadelphia National Airport at 2:00pm, Saturday, August 12th. The flight will be leaving at 4:35pm. This is a private aircraft, and all the students enrolled will be flying on this aircraft._ _Please note that this flight is the only means of transportation available to get to the Wilderness School._ _Parents will be allowed to stay with the group until departure. The flight will then take students to Wells, Nevada, where the Wilderness School is located. Students have Sunday to unpack and socialize before school starts on Monday, August 14th. The wilderness school is perfect for your child. It offers a wide range of-_

I skipped over some of the advertizing, and read more about the actual town. The second flight, to Wells, was a private flight. Wells, Nevada is a small town (with an even smaller airport) in North-Eastern Nevada. The airport is located on school grounds because the only time it is ever used is to get students to and from the school.

All the students going to the Wilderness School would be on this next flight.

 _This is going to be an interesting ride._

I ended up getting some food while I waited, and then I went looking around at different stores. I strolled over to a touristy shop that has a bunch of little Philly baubles and trinkets. I turned a keychain over in my hand, and dusted it off. Suddenly I got a chill, and felt eyes on my back. I turned around slowly, looking for the person who was staring. She had striking green eyes which startled me so much that I kept staring even after I had seen her. She also had bright red hair, clashing with her eyes beautifully. Her expression was confident and nervous at the same time. She walked straight over to me.

"Hi! My name is Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I think that we might be going to the same school this year!" she said, grinning.

"You're going to the Wilderness School?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Yes, unfortunately. There were worse options though. My parents were about to send me to a ladies finishing school until I found the Wilderness School. I convinced them to let me go there instead. I heard that sometimes parents send their kids to to the Wilderness School because they did something, like, bad, but I practically _begged_ to be sent there. What about you?" She lowers her voice and looks excited. "Did you do something bad? Is that why you're going? You look like you might be the type of person to do something illegal every now and then."

I took a second before responding, then said, "I haven't done anything illegal, ever. My parents just… decided to send me." I knew that sounded like a lie, so I just decided to tell her the truth. "My family hates me, and so they shipped me off and now they don't have to see me for the rest of the year." The truth of that statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I bit my lip to stop myself from from letting my eyes tear up. I don't cry much, it can be perceived as a sign of weakness. I'm not weak. But right in the moment it seemed impossible to keep a steady expression.

 _Pull yourself together, Annabeth._

"Oh, that sucks. I don't think my parents hate me… , but they sure don't pay any attention," Rachel said, thankfully not noticing my internal struggle to remain tearless. "Hey, what's your name? You didn't introduce yourself before."

"Oh… my name's Annabeth Chase."

"Nice to meet you."

"How did you know that we were going to the same school?" I asked. Truthfully, I was really curious as to how she guessed this piece of information. I'm not sure I could've just guessed that she was going to the Wilderness School. The chance of me being on the same private flight as her was already pretty small, and this private flight only had about 100 kids.

"I've just been asking teenagers if they are going to the Wilderness School all afternoon." I laughed at the ridiculousness of her answer.

"What do you do if they say they're not?"

"I just say, 'Oh sorry, see you around!' and run away," she said, flushing a little. I decided I liked her.

 _I guess I won't be completely alone at this school after all._

It was immediately apparent that I would not be friendless at this school. When Rachel and I walked back to the terminal, she introduced me to some of her fellow students that she'd uncovered. Piper, Hazel, Calypso and Thalia.

"Nice to meet you guys..!" I said uncertainly. I reminded myself that what Rachel said was true: a lot of these kids were going to the school because they did bad things and had bad behavior. I realized I needed to be careful.

"Nice to meet you too!" the one was called Piper exclaimed excitedly. "Are you excited to be going to the Wilderness School?"

I looked at her closely and gasped when her eyes flicked, then changed color. First hazel, then greenish blueish, and then chocolate brown. I glanced around, but no one seemed to notice my loud intake of breath. The changing colors must have been a trick of the lights, but it scared me a little. She was almost unnaturally beautiful even though her choppy haircut, ripped clothes and messy braids were obviously carelessly put together. Remembering that she had asked me a question, I answered, hoping she hadn't noticed me studying her.

"...No. I'm not excited. Not at all."

"Yeah, we're not all that excited either," Thalia said grumpily. Thalia had strikingly bright blue eyes and short dark hair. She wore dark clothing that made her eyes stand out even more, and I must admit, she looked very intimidating. Her ears must of had about 3 or 4 piercings each, making them glitter in the light.

The one who's name was Hazel was nodding along to the conversation, but she didn't say anything. She had gold eyes and dark brown eyes and skin. She was pretty, and looked a couple years younger than me and the other girls. Her golden eyes were as sharp as real gold, and as soft and smooth as fresh honey. I thought she seemed a little shyer than the others.

I looked to the last girl in the group, Calypso. She had waved slightly when I introduced myself, but hadn't said a word. Her almond eyes seemed distracted and were fixed on the world outside the windows. She had beautiful caramel hair was braided into one big plait that went down her right shoulder, tied off with a gold clasp. She was the only one in the group wearing a dress, but the one she wore looked comfortable and didn't restrict her movements at all. The off-white color of the dress matched her sun-kissed skin and eyes well.

It was unusually easy to talk to all four of them. It was easy for me to decide that they weren't criminals or people to feel uneasy about. I wasn't going to stop questioning them until I was sure, but my gut was telling me that they were all kind, innocent people.

At 2 o'clock, I estimated about a hundred students sitting in the departure lounge. About equal number of girls and boys. Bored, I watched Piper stare at a blonde boy coming into the lounge with his family. Transfixed, she didn't even hear me when I called her name.

"Does she know him?" I asked Hazel.

"I don't know, probably not." All four of the rest of us- even Calypso- were staring at Piper now, watching her watch the dude.

"Thalia, do you think Piper knows that guy?"

"I doubt it," Thalia said under her breath. "She lives in California, but apparently while she was in vacation in Florida for the summer her dad got an advertisement from the school and loved the idea. He decided they should take a trip up here to Philly so that Piper could catch this flight." I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "He must of been pretty eager to get rid of her to make such a last minute decision," Thalia added as an afterthought.

That was very interesting, and it made me feel a little sorry for Piper. What a great way to end your vacation...

"I guess she's just fascinated by the guy's looks then," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I think that's a very accurate guess," Rachel laughed.

2 hours later we were boarding the plane. I was towards the front, but I heard laughter from the end of the line. I turned around and squinted at the boys in the back, who were all pointing at someone running towards our terminal. I couldn't see him well. My first thought was one of disapproval. Two hours late?

As he got closer the guffawing boys got louder and louder. He must know the boys in the wouldn't of laughed at him so pointedly if he was a stranger. He grew closer, and I could make out disheveled black hair, and a sheepish expression on olive skin. I still couldn't see his eyes, which is always unsettling. Eyes can tell me so much about a person. The guy did the "bro handshake" with the guy with light blonde hair, and scruffed up another dude's curls. I turned around quickly because I realized I was holding the line up.

Once on the plane, I did some easy multiplying of the seats and concluded it would be a packed flight. Four seats per row, two on either side. About thirty rows. Only about five-ten seats would be left empty. I looked at my newfound friends and sighed. Five people. There's only two people per side.  
"You guys can sit together. I'll sit up here," I said. I regretted it a little, but it made sense, seeing as they all knew me the least.

"Are you sure, Annabeth?" Hazel asked me, mild concern in her eyes.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, I'll just sit up here." I motioned to the pair of seats next to me. I watched as Piper and Thalia sat next to each other, then Hazel and Calypso. Hazel gave me a sympathetic look before I plopped down in my own lowly seat. I was silently praying I'd be alone on the five hour flight. If I wasn't with someone I knew, I wanted to be alone. I watched as people walked by, searching for seats. So far, no one took any interest in the seat next to me. Then the group of boys emerged from the front part of the plane. All the rows had at least one person occupying the double seats. I looked out the window in frustration.

 _Damn it._

The five or six boys that were at the back of the line walked slowly down the lane, scanning for empty seats. I could practically feel the seat next to mine calling out for them to sit in.

 _Please don't sit here. Please don't sit here. I'll kill you if you sit here. I just want to be alone, PLEASE don't sit here._

I felt someone sit, and sighed. I figured I'd have to look at him, I couldn't just sit here not knowing who was next to me.

The boy with the tousled black hair and olive skin was sitting next to me, talking fast to a freckled guy who hadn't found a seat yet. I was a little taken aback at how black his hair was. I glanced back out the window, not wanting to be caught staring. After everyone had found a seat, the flight attendant started his speech about safety and what to do when the plane lands. I felt a hand tap my shoulder lightly, and turned to look at the face I knew expected me.

I looked, and sea green eyes bore into mine instantly. A scream caught in my throat.

 _Stay away from the one with green eyes._

 _Click_

 _Click_

 _Click_

 _Beware the green eyes._


End file.
